Now back to your regularly scheduled minor league recap.

Triple-A International League: Norfolk Tides (BAL) 4, Durham Bulls 3

The last time Alex Torres made the major leagues before this year, September of 2011, he followed it up with a disastrous performance when he returned to the minor leagues in 2011, completely losing the strike zone on his way to a horrific season. The Rays have to hope that Torres’ latest time in the major leagues and subsequent demotion will have vastly divergent results. With that in mind, Torres’ first inning back at Triple-A Durham had to be the Rays’ worst nightmare. Torres looked exactly like the pitcher who walked nearly a batter per inning last year and not the pitcher who has broken through, throwing just 14 of his 34 pitches in the inning for strikes as he allowed 2 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs. From there, though, Torres was able to recompose himself, throwing 22 of 36 pitches for strikes the next three innings to finish with reasonable numbers. Torres went 4 innings allowing 3 runs on 2 hits, striking out 4 while walking 2. His groundout to flyout ratio was 6-2. Rays fans watching certainly got a scare, but it seems like it was just a temporary thing and Torres will be just fine moving forward. With the Rays’ bullpen still looking as weak as ever, a big league return could soon be in the wings for Torres, but he will have to keep pitching well for that to be a possibility. Speaking of potential big league options, Jeff Beliveau, who was also briefly in the big leagues for the Rays, had a great game himself, going 2 innings allowing just a hit while striking out 3, and Cory Wade tossed a perfect 8th. On the offensive side, Vince Belnome raised his average to .331 on the year, going 2 for 4 with a double, a walk, and 2 RBI, Jason Bourgeois went 2 for 4 with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored, and Brandon Guyer had a triple and a run scored. Solid game for the Bulls after Torres’ early frustration, but it was not enough for them to come away with a win.

High-A Florida State League: Clearwater Threshers (PHI) 3, Charlotte Stone Crabs 2

The worst feeling as a pitcher is when you pitch great and yet your team simply cannot get you a win. That line best described Jeremy Hellickson in the Rays organization on Tuesday, but Roberto Gomez actually took the loss for Charlotte despite one of his best outings of the season. Gomez went a season-high 7 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, striking out 1 while walking none, and Lenny Linsky even followed him with a pair of shutout innings in relief so no bullpen collapse was to blame here. The issue was that Charlotte just could not push runs across, going just 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. Drew Vettleson plated both Stone Crabs runs in the game despite going 0 for 4, driving in both runs on groundouts. He also had an outfield assist in the game. In terms of the real strong performers on offense and not the curious ones, Jake Hager went 3 for 4 with a double and a stolen base (yet embarrassingly was not part of the scoring), Kes Carter went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 runs scored, and Jeff Malm went 2 for 4 as well. Tough loss for Stone Crabs, and they need to figure out some way to push runs across and take advantage of the strong pitching they get so often.

The Rays entered the 9th down 6-4 with Orioles closer Jim Johnson taking the hill going for his 15th save of the season. The sinkerballing Johnson began the 9th per usual, forcing Luke Scott to ground out. But then, however, Johnson got behind Kelly Johnson 3-1 and left a sinker up in the zone, and Johnson didn’t miss it, eliminating the Orioles’ margin for error with a solo home run to make it 6-5 Baltimore. That was only the start of Johnson’s struggles. Johnson walked Jose Lobaton and Yunel Escobar to put the tying run in scoring position and the go-ahead run on base. And after Desmond Jennings singled, Matthew Joyce ended Johnson’s night and ignited the Orioles’ frustration, drilling a go-ahead 2-run double. Ben Zobrist would slam a 2-run double off of Darren O’Day and Scott would draw a bases-loaded walk as the Rays surged for 6 runs in the inning, turning a 6-4 deficit into a 10-6 lead on their way to victory.

Roberto Hernandez was terrible for the Rays in this one, going just 2+ innings allowing 5 runs on 8 hits. Cesar Ramos relieved him in the 3rd and allowed a J.J. Hardy RBI double to plate Hernandez’s final run before letting up another run in the 4th. The Rays simply weren’t getting any pitching at all and on a pitching-dependent team, it seemed sure to cost them. But nobody told that to Matt Joyce. Joyce drilled a 2-run home run in the 3rd as the Rays closed to within 4-3 for a moment and a Joyce RBI double made it 6-4 Orioles in the 5th. The rest of Joyce’s heroics would have to wait until the 9th, and Alex Torres did his part to make sure they would not go for nought. Torres went 4 innings of relief allowing no runs on not a single hit, striking out 3 while walking 2. It could have been prettier but the results could not have been better and for his efforts, Torres got the win in the game when the Rays rallied–and a ticket back to Triple-A after the game. Such is the life of a rookie reliever on a team in a pennant chase, but don’t worry, he’ll be back.

Chaotic game for the Rays in this one, but the superhuman efforts of Joyce and Torres made it all work out in the end. This isn’t the Rays team we’re used to, but between an offense playing as well as it has in a very long time and players stepping up to solidify the pitching staff, it is all working out and the Rays have to hope that these past two wins versus the Orioles can be the start of something. Matt Moore goes for his 8th win against the Orioles’ Chris Tillman at 1:35 on Sunday as the Rays go for the sweep.

Instead, Alex Torres got the call, and is in Tampa for the time being. He has already made a relief appearance, getting Jacoby Ellsbury to ground out in a five pitch at bat. This appearance was a bit surprising, as Torres was thought to be called up to replace Price in the rotation, not to pitch in relief. Perhaps this was the day he normally would have been getting his side work in, and the Rays figured to have him pitch instead, but it does seem a bit curious.

If Torres is heading to the bullpen, where he may actually be a better fit, then what is the next step for the rotation? And why bring up Torres for the bullpen if another reliever is not being sent down to create room? There could be a couple of reasons for that.

First, the bullpen has issues. A strength of the Rays since the team began contending in 2008, the Rays relievers rank last in the American League in ERA at 4.78. Last night was a microcosm of the year, as Kyle Farnsworth entered a 12-7 game with a runner on first, faced three batters and gave up two runs, leaving without recording an out. Joel Peralta and Jamey Wright, for the most part, have been the only two relievers that have engendered any feeling of comfort when entering the game thus far. Josh Lueke has been good since getting recalled, but the Rays still need to improve the performance of their bullpen.

Second, both Archer and Odorizzi have had their struggles in Durham. Archer is 4-2, but has an ERA of 4.38, and has walked 19 batters in 39 innings. His WHiP stands at 1.56, as he has struggled to get people out. Odorizzi is pitching better, with a 4-0 record and a 3.83 ERA, but has struggled at times recently. It could be that the Rays are waiting for Archer or Odorizzi to have a good start, so as to head to Tampa feeling good about their performance.

It could also be as simple as the Rays not wanting to call up either just to send them back down when Price comes back. Perhaps they feel that when either, or both, pitchers come back to Tampa, it will be to stay and to hopefully be fixtures in the rotation. With these thoughts in mind, it appears as though Torres may be nothing more than a stopgap measure for the time being, possibly taking a couple of starts until Price is ready, then being sent back to Durham.

Even though Alex Torres was brought up when Price went on the disabled list, he is not likely to remain in the rotation. He simply fills a need that the Rays have at the moment, as they wait for Archer or Odorizzi to prove that they are ready for the majors.